We're All in this Together!
by AbbeyPotter
Summary: It's graduation time, and the Wildcat's aren't ready to seperate for college. But, Gabriella has a suprise... Troyella, Chaylor, Zekepay, Jelsi, RyanxLauren ONESHOT! in honor of HSM3. R&R!


**They day we've all been waiting for is HERE! That's right, High School Musical 3: Senior Year is finally OUT IN THEATERS! AND I SAW IT!! OMG IT WAS SO GOOD!! I DIED!! TROYELLA!! OMG!! AND I CRIED!! AND LAUGHED!! AND HAD A PANIC ATTACK WHEN IT STARTED!! OMG!! : ) It was the BEST movie I've EVER seen EVER!! : )**

**So, in honor of this date, I made a one-shot about graduation and I'm posting it now. Because it's all over. They're all grown up. cries**

**So, before I cry any more than I have to sniffle, here it is. : )**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, I own this, Santa Claus, and a cat named Phillis! : ) (I'm being sarcastic, btw)**

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The yearbooks had been given out, the lockers cleaned out, and finals taken. It was here. It was really here.

Graduation.

It was a good memory, yet it could be a sad one. It was one of the last times you would see your friends until you all went your separate ways for college. You wouldn't be able to joke around in homeroom and complain about teachers or assignments. You wouldn't have the chance to talk about the latest basketball scores and science formulas. It was all in the past now. High school was in the past.

Troy Bolton was sitting on stage with the other top students of his class. Surprisingly, he made it into the top 20 with the help of his beautiful girlfriend since junior year, Gabriella Montez. She was sitting a few rows behind him, waiting until she was called up to speak. She had gotten chosen for valedictorian. That wasn't really a surprise to Troy. After all, she was the smartest girl he had ever met. And she had the kindest heart. She would never hurt a fly.

Troy smiled at the thought of her. He could stare and get lost in her chocolate brown eyes, and her curly brown hair that had grown to the length that it was when she first came to East High made her the most beautiful girl in the world. The smell of her perfume always somehow lingered around him. It was probably because they were never separated. Amazingly, they had all of the same classes this year. But that couldn't happen now once they went to college.

It's true; Troy and Gabriella were going to different colleges. While he stayed more at home and went to U of A on a full basketball scholarship, she was going to the other side of the country and attending Duke. They wouldn't be able to eat lunch together, talk about assignments, or leave cute notes in each other's lockers. They were going to be a plane ride and phone call away. But, they were still keeping their relationship. Both knew that what they had was special and they could get through it.

Mr. Matsui's voice interrupted Troy's sad thoughts.

"Staff, students, parents, another year has passed, and another group of great kids will be leaving East High to start the rest of their lives. More memories will be made, and new things will be learned. It's a sad time to graduate from a familiar place, but it's also exciting to be able to go new places and meet new people. Class of 2008, I congratulate you on a very successful and fun year and I hope nothing but the best for you in the future. Now, I'd like to bring up the valedictorian, Gabriella Montez."

Gabriella stood up, nervous as ever. More nervous than when she and Troy had sung for the callbacks in junior year and changed the whole school. She slowly walked up to the podium, a wave of confidence hitting her when she saw Troy smiling at her, added with his famous wink. She smiled back, and put her speech on the podium and began to read it.

"Class of 2008, the first thing I'd like to say to you is thank you. Thank you so much for making the last two years of my high school career the best two years of my life. Before I came to East High, my mom and I always were moving around from one city to the next. The longest time I was at a school was probably six months, so being able to be here for over a year was great. Especially since I met all of my great friends," She paused and looked at Sharpay and Ryan Evans, Kelsi Neilson, Jason Cross, Zeke Baylor, and Chad Danforth. Chad gave out a 'Whoop!' during the pause, and she giggled softly to herself. Her best friend Taylor Mckessie was sitting behind her, since she was also in the top 20 students. She began her speech again. "And also romance. I got to experience what it was like to be a regular girl instead of always being the freaky math girl. I hope you remember all of the great memories here, because I know I will.

"Knowing that we are all going our separate ways makes graduation a sad day when it really should be happy. It's a celebration for making through your high school years, and it's also a welcoming party for college and life. It may be the end of high school, but it's the beginning of the rest of our lives. So, on that note, I wish everybody the best in life, and nothing but success and happiness. Again, thank you class of 2008, for making my high school experience a great one. Congratulations, and I'll miss you all."

Most, if not all of the girls had tears running down their cheeks, trying to wipe them without smearing their makeup. Everybody began to clap, and Gabriella beamed as she walked back to her seat. Troy had been smiling at her, and winked at her once again, obviously proud of her and touched by her speech. She saw Chad stand up and whoop, making everybody laugh a bit. A few others did what he did, but most of the kids remained seated.

"That boy is crazy," Gabriella heard Taylor mutter when she got back to her seat. They weren't far away from each other since both of their last names started with an 'M'.

Gabriella giggled and whispered back to her. "Tay, all boys are crazy. I thought you knew that already."

"I did, it's just he's beyond crazy. _Way_ beyond crazy." She replied and they shared a quiet laugh.

After a few more speeches, it was time to give out the diplomas. They were going to start with the top students and then everybody else.

"Troy Alexander Bolton. He will be attending the University of Albuquerque in the fall." When Troy stood up, everybody cheered. After all, he was the star basketball player. He was captain two years in a row! There was one big word there. _Was._

He smiled at Mr. Matsui as they shook hands. "Congratulations, Troy." He smiled and Troy nodded and smiled back at him. He turned to the crowd and saw his mom and dad sitting in the football stand bleachers, smiling and cheering for him. He waved at them, and held his diploma in the air proudly. Then he made his way to his seat. When he looked at Gabriella, she was beaming and cheering at him. She blew him a kiss, and went back to cheering. He sat down, and other names were called.

Finally, they called Taylor's name. "Taylor Mckessie. She will be attending the University of Southern California in the fall." Taylor got up and got her diploma. Much like Troy, she smiled at her parents, friends, her boyfriend Chad, and sat back down.

A few names later, they called out Gabriella's name. Gabriella was anxious for two reasons. First of all, she really didn't want to walk out in front of the stage and trip while walking to get her diploma. Second of all, she had a surprise for everybody. A _huge_ surprise. And she didn't know how Troy would take it since they had had a long discussion about this when they received college acceptance letters.

"Gabriella Marie Montez. She will be attending the University of Albuquerque in the fall."

As she got up to accept her diploma, she felt Troy's and everybody else's eyes on her. They all thought she accepted her offer to Duke. But she didn't. She declined it and chose to go to college with Troy. But they were still cheering for her. She sighed in relief inwardly. At least they hadn't all come chasing after her like she thought they would have.

As she passed Troy, he gently grabbed her hand and spun her so she faced him. "Really?" He asked hopefully.

She smiled and replied, "Yes."

He smiled at her too, but let go of her hand so that she could go back to her seat.

--

After the ceremony ended, Gabriella stood up and started looking for any familiar faces. She spotted Sharpay standing with her boyfriend Zeke, Kelsi with her boyfriend Jason, and Ryan with his girlfriend Lauren. Suddenly, she was being picked up off the ground.

"Congrats Gabs!" Chad shouted over the noise and put her back down gently.

"Congrats, Chad!" She replied and they quickly hugged. "Have you seen Tay or Troy?"

"No, but they're probably around here somewhere. And by the way, you're going to U of A?! That's awesome! But I thought you were going to Duke?" He wondered.

"Well, after thinking about it, I decided that I wouldn't be happy at Duke while everybody was over here. So, I decided to go to U of A. Besides, they have a great teaching program." She said.

"Or you chose to go because you're super handsome boyfriend is going there."

Gabriella spun around at the sound of his voice. Immediately, Troy pulled her into a passionate kiss which she gladly returned. They continued for a few seconds until Chad interrupted.

"Must I still need to see you two sucking faces on graduation? I thought that was all over!" He complained and put a hand over his eyes.

Pulling away, Troy and Gabriella laughed and looked at him. "You shouldn't be talking, Danforth. You and Taylor do it too!" A small blush crept on Chad's face.

"Yeah, well, not as much as you two!" He defended. "Well, I'm going to go find my girlfriend. Have you guys seen her anywhere?"

"No need to go find me, Chad. I already found you!" Chad turned behind him and saw Taylor standing there, smiling at him. She pulled him into a hug. "Congratulations, basketball star."

"Congrats, brainiac," He returned, hugging her back. "I can't believe we graduated high school!"

"I know it seems like yesterday we were all just walking in the hallways for the first time, scared we were going to get lost." Troy commented.

"Remember Sharpay really did get lost and she ran into a senior class? That was so funny!" Chad laughed, and Troy and Taylor laughed along and Gabriella just smiled and giggled since she didn't really know anything since she moved to East High during junior year.

"I thought I told you not to say _anything_ about that, Danforth!" Sharpay's voice came from the right.

She, Zeke, Ryan, Lauren, Jason, and Kelsi were all walking over. They were laughing too, at Sharpay's reaction and from remembering.

"Shar, you have to admit, that was a pretty funny moment," Kelsi said. Sharpay just pouted and snuggled more into Zeke's embrace.

"We've had a lot of memories here at East High," Gabriella commented, smiling and looking over at the school.

"Yeah, too many to count," Troy agreed and squeezed her hand.

"But hey, we'll still make more memories! Just because we're all going to different colleges doesn't mean our friendship is over!" Ryan said.

"Well, Troy, Chad, and now Gabby are going to U of A," Jason said. "By the way, I thought you were going to Duke, Gabs?"

"Nope, I decided that I wanted to go somewhere more local, not all the way across the country," She replied and smiled up at Troy. "And besides, Duke may have a great science program, but U of A has better things and people there. Plus, Albuquerque is my home. I don't want to go far away for college."

"Hey, what team?" Chad interrupted the moment with the famous cheer.

"Wildcats!" They all shouted back.

"What team?"

"Wildcats!"

"What Team?"

"Wildcats!"

"Wildcats!"

"We're all in this together!"

And so, the ten friends left the stadium to head to the after party, being held at Sharpay and Ryan's house. They definitely weren't going to forget anything that happened in their whole high school career, and make new great memories as their lives went on.

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"_There is a good reason the call these ceremonies 'commencement exercises'. Graduation is not the end; it's the beginning." –Orrin Hatch_

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**Did you guys like it? I did. I'm pretty proud of this. : )**

**Review! It means a lot to hear what you think about it. So, um, yeah. : ) And look out for more one-shots from me…I'll be doing some in the future. Lol**

**Abbey xoxo**


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